Hortense McDuck
Hortense McDuck is Donald Duck's mother and Scrooge McDuck's younger sister. Appearances Donald's mother was created by Carl Barks, who first mentioned her in a Donald Duck family tree he wrote down in the 1950s. On this tree, Hortense was included as Scrooge's sister and Grandma Duck's daughter-in-law. Barks gave Donald's mother the name Hortense McDuck, and also mentioned her husband, Donald's father, whom he named Quackmore Duck. Donald's parents first appeared in Donald Duck Writes a Book. In Donald's flashback, they could be seen dancing to the music of a gramophone in one panel. Donald's mother had a typical années folles (1920s) haircut. Donald tells that his parents were not rich, but nonetheless fun-loving persons. In Mark Worden's illustrated version of Barks' 1950s Duck family tree, Hortense and Quackmore were also given a portrait. In Of Ducks, Dimes and Destinies, Donald's mother can be seen on a picture in Donald's house while the family is having dinner. In the same story, Magica De Spell tries to obtain the Number One Dime before Scrooge earned it, by travelling back in time to Scrooge's childhood, where she also encounters Hortense, who is still a baby at this point. In The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck, Hortense is a recurring character. According to this series, she is the youngest of Scrooge's sisters. She's a toddler when her eldest brother Scrooge leaves Scotland for America. In the series' 10th chapter The Invader of Fort Duckburg, she leaves Scotland for Duckburg, U.S.A, where she meets Quackmore, Grandma Duck's son, who has a temper very similar to her own. In the beginning of ''The Empire-Builder from Calisota'', Hortense and Quackmore are engaged. This story also shows that she, together with her sister Matilda, hired Emily Quackfaster, Scrooge's secretary. Near the end of the story, she leaves Duckburg with her sister, her husband and their children, Donald and Della. Donald also mentions his mother in The Sharpie of the Culebra Cut ''(Uncle Scrooge'' #332). Donald's mother was possibly mentioned in the Quack Pack episode "Can't Take a Yolk". When the nephews discover that the formula will keep their uncle getting younger until he hatches back into the egg, Huey says: "Better call Grandma. She's in for a big surprise..." Since their great-grandmother Grandma Duck didn't appear in the series, it's possible that Huey was actually referring to their own grandmother, Donald's mother. Trivia * Hortense is also the name of the ostrich in Donald's Ostrich. * Scrooge named his horse after his sister, because they have similar tempers. * In two comic stories, Donald himself unwittingly references his mother's baby speech: **In ''Of Ducks, Dimes and Destinies'''' by Don Rosa, Donald is shown sleeping and makes the sound "glxblt" when he snores. **In [[The Dream of a Lifetime|''The Dream of a Lifetime]], also by Rosa, Donald (who is inside Scrooge's dreams, trying to stop the Beagle Boys) finds his mother as a baby in Scrooge's dreams about his childhood. When Fergus, seemingly thinking Donald is a kidnapper, strangles him, Donald exclaims "blxglt!?". Gallery Treeworden735678657.jpg|Donald's parents on Mark Worden's Donald Duck family tree. Afbeeldinghadhiusd.jpg Hr (73467).png|Donald briefly mentions his mom. Downy with Hortense.jpg|Hortense with her mother Quackmore_and_Hortense_meet.jpg|Quackmore and Hortense first meet each other when Scrooge crashed in the farm. Quackmore_in_charge.jpg|Hortense leaves Quackmore, now her fiancee, in charge of Scrooge's money while they travel after treasure. Della_&_Donald.jpg|Quackmore and Hortense with their twins, Della and Donald. Hortense_&_Donald.jpg|Donald meets the baby version of his mother in his Uncle Scrooge's dreams. hd1902_c.jpg External links * Hortense McDuck at the INDUCKS *Donald's mother at the INDUCKS Category:Disney characters Category:Characters Category:Ducks Category:Females Category:Parents Category:Adults Category:Grandparents Category:Siblings Category:Scottish characters Category:European characters Category:Donald Duck universe characters Category:Duck Family Category:Heroines Category:Characters introduced in comics Category:Spouses Category:Anthropomorphic characters Category:Characters created by Carl Barks